Sangamon County rethinking proposal to raise animal control fees

After some pushback from local officials, Sangamon County has gone back to the drawing board with its plan to raise the fees it charges municipalities for animal control services.

County officials told a gathering of mayors and village presidents that the county plans to leave its existing fees in place for the year that just ended and for the current year. Officials will come back to the local leaders in the next few weeks with a plan for next year.

“There’s going to be an increase in cost,” County Administrator Brian McFadden said.

However, he said, it likely will be “far less than what was originally proposed.”

Rolling out the new proposal now will give towns a chance to plan for the increased cost or come up with alternatives, McFadden said.

“The sooner we can alleviate some of the uncertainty about what the future holds, the better it is for everybody,” he said.

The history

The county first met with local officials late last year to propose dramatic increases in the fees it charges for dealing with stray cats and dogs and other animal problems.

County leaders proposed the change after a cost study showed the county spent $1.2 million on animal control services in fiscal year 2012 but only brought in $615,861 in revenue.

The towns would have paid 10 times more on average under the new fee structure, and some would have seen an even greater increase. Chatham, for example, would have gone from paying $1,500 annually to nearly $23,000.

Springfield would have seen its cost nearly double, from a little less than $291,000 to nearly $565,000.

The fees are based on the number of times Sangamon County Animal Control responds to calls for service in each town and the number of nights animals picked up spend in the county shelter.

The proposal left town officials throughout the county weighing their options.

Bill McCarty, Springfield’s budget director, said the increase could have led the city to consider restarting its animal control unit, which was eliminated when the city consolidated services with the county in late 2000 as a cost-saving measure.

What’s next?

McFadden said the county is finishing up its internal review of the proposed new fees and probably will bring a new proposal to the county board committee that oversees animal control soon. If the committee signs off, the plan would then be presented to local officials.

One issue that’s on the table is whether the county will start charging towns for euthanizing and disposing of animals picked up in their corporate limits. The county currently covers those expenses but had proposed shifting that cost to the towns.

Another issue is whether the county should continue its current practice of sheltering animals longer than is required by state law and, if so, who should foot the bill for those extra days.

The county also is considering tying cost increases in future years to the Consumer Price Index, something it already does for Springfield.

McCarty said, depending on the proposed fees, the city would support that change.

McFadden said the county has tentatively schedule a meeting with local officials for later this month.

“We understand that this has to make financial sense for all the parties involved,” he said.

Information

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